Viridian Dreams
by CYCBW
Summary: Plagued by a recurring dream which he never wants to wake from, an older Ash must come to terms with his past and force himself to move on or to try and repair a path which he was sure to have destroyed 7 years ago.
1. Chapter 1

It must've been midnight in the now quiet city of Viridian. Almost everyone was asleep, and the only sound Ash Ketchum could hear was the low whir of the air-con blowing throughout his room. If he strained his ears, the young trainer might've been able to hear a Rattata skulking outside his window but that was the last thing on his mind. Along with his closest friends Brock and Misty the trio were on a return trip from Johto and the Silver Conference, each heading back to their own homes after spending so much time away. The three knew that their journey was ending in the morning but it seemed as if they all were having troubles expressing how they felt. Misty had gotten angry at ash for not seeming to care, Ash was his usual arrogant self, adamant in refusing to understand Misty's point of view and Brock, despite having oh so much experience was for once unable to bridge the gap that had formed between the two trainers.

It didn't help that earlier in the day while Misty was taking a needed break from the hot-headed master in the making she was ambushed by the _Invincible Pokémon Brothers, _with an unfair 3-on-1 battle threatening to take a turn for the worse before Ash and Brock came to back up their friend. Despite acting as if she had it under control, Misty was shaken up and frightened. It was the first time where, even for a moment, she didn't have the brazenly over-confident boy with the messy raven hair at her side, and that made her feel more isolated than she ever had been.

After cleaning up the trio, all three came to a mutual decision that they were simply too tired to continue home and decided to crash at the local Pokémon centre, and that's where Ash found himself right now. For some reason he was simply unable to sleep, his stomach light and jittery while his shoulders were heavy, weighing him down to the bed and draining all the energy from his body. On the bunk above him lay the girl to whom he no longer owed a bike, and across from him _used_ to be Brock however the older boy had walked out of the room half-awake, mumbling about his bladder.

Ash had tried everything to fall asleep. He counted Snorlax, tried his hardest to keep his eyes open as if to trick himself into a deep slumber and even went to reach for a night-light in order to read the latest _Pokémon Weekly_, but seeing the sleeping electric mouse upon his stomach made him decide against that last idea. He didn't want to wake his closest friend, nor receive an electric shock.

Just as he finally felt his eye-lids droop, something suddenly got his attention.

"Hey, Ash?" The voice of the Cerulean gym leader filled his mind and jolted him back to reality. Lifting his head up with a low groan, he looked up to the bunk above him as if he could see his friend through the wood and mattress.

"Misty…? What's up?"

"I uh, I just wanted to say something to you…" Speaking in a low whisper, Misty's voice was anything but sure of itself.

"…Yeah?" Now sitting up fully, Ash realised his mistake all too late as the Pikachu which was just lying on his stomach had rolled off, softly crashing onto the sheets to his side.

"_Chaaa…._" Instead of waking up the small Pokémon it simply sprawled out on its back, letting out a deep sigh as it continued the ketchup filled dream.

With a breath of relief Ash turned once again to examine his friend through the bunk, "Misty, what's up?"

"Well, uh… T-thanks for coming to help me today with that trio. You and Brock."

"Oh, is that all? It's not that big of a deal." His fingers combing through the back of his hair, Ash leant out to the side of his bed, looking up just as Misty popped her head over her bunk. Still in her tank-top and jeans her hair had been let out of its side ponytail, the messy heap falling across her features. In some way it made Ash's stomach jitters disappear for a mere second, before coming back with twice the intensity.

"No, but I mean it! I wasn't… I wasn't very grateful to you both. And after getting me my bike back, I dunno…" Casting her eyes away from Ash she fidgeted in her sheets. "Without you there, I was a little scared. Maybe."

Unable to respond but with a blink of his eyes, Ash was trying to figure out what he really heard as Misty's voice trailed off. _Scared_? No way! Even if she was, there's no way that she'd admit it. Of course if she did, Ash was _not_ about to let her live it down.

"Wait, did you just say you were sorry? You?!" Speaking as loud as he could in a whisper a sheepish grin captured his features. Hearing this was simply a once in a life-time opportunity.

"What? N-no! Of course I didn't! You're just hearing things because that thick skull of yours is still waking up!" In a desperate attempt to cover for herself, Misty resorted to the one thing she was best at; insulting Ash.

"Too bad for you I was already awake! You said you were scared, didn't you?"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!'

"DID NOT!" With the most piercing whisper ever released from a human pair of lips Misty pulled her head back from the edge. Her nose running and her vision becoming blurry, having Ash see her in this state on-top of her prior 'confession' would be too much to recover from. It was just unfortunate for her that in complete silence, there was nothing to cover the quiet sounds of her crying.

"…Misty?" Even if they may yell and scream at each other, the last thing Ash ever wanted to do was to cause his friend even the mildest discomfort, let alone make her cry. Getting out of bed as silently as he could, he hoisted himself up the bed-side ladder so he was head and shoulders above the top bunk. The second his eyes adjusted to the darkness properly, he saw his best friend crying.

"Misty, I'm sorry! I-"

"It's okay… you didn't do anything wrong." Holding the sheets up to her face so that only her eyes were visible, she looked Ash head on, neither of them pulling their gaze away. "I… It was just the first time I was in trouble and you weren't immediately there. Every other time, if it was team rocket or something else, you and Brock were right there beside me."

With a million and one things popping up in Ash's mind, all he could do was remain silent and listen. As thick as he was, this wasn't something he wanted to interrupt.

"For a few minutes I was by myself, and even if I _could_ handle it… all I wanted was to hear you and Pikachu right next to me." Now, the tears came faster than before.

"B-but Misty, you were fine! You're a gym leader, you-"

"I know!" Throughout their conversation, both trainers had unknowingly gotten closer to each other. Now, for the first time Ash was conscious as he felt Misty's warm breath caress his face. It tickled, and in any other circumstance he would've been annoyed but right now the last thing he wanted was to move away, and he had no clue as to why. "I know I can handle it alone, but I don't want to Ash! I want you to be there, I don't care how easy or hard it gets!"

Ash didn't even go to reply. He had no idea how to react in this scenario. Throughout their entire journey together, the two had been in countless sticky situations, and they had fought their way out of each and every one. This though? This was entirely alien to them both.

"Ash… I don't want you to go tomorrow."

"I… I have to, though. I need to go back to Pallet, and-"

"No! Ash… don't leave me!" Misty's voice was as weak as it had ever been, but she had never wanted anything more in her life. Lowering her sheets, she reached out and brushed her fingers against Ash's shirt, feebly clawing into the fabric and pulling him closer. For the briefest moment her face was less than an inch away from his, and their eyes were locked on each other. Even in the darkness Ash could see the beauty in his friend's eyes, and he was stunned. With one final move forward from them both, their lips locked. The kiss was awkward and inexperienced, but it was entirely pure and Misty had put her entire message into it, pulling Ash as close as she could manage.

Neither of them knew for how long for but they remained in that position, Ash leaning up and over the top bunk as Misty pulled him close and their lips danced together. For the young red-head, she was giving her last-ditch effort to convince the one person she felt truly safe with to stay, and for Ash, all he knew was that this is what Misty wanted, and for some reason fulfilling her wish filled the void in the stomach and gave his shoulders the strength to carry the world. Their lungs screamed for air but neither wanted to break free as their tongues danced against each other in the clumsiest yet most passionate embrace any human could ever know.

It wasn't until they heard the sound of footsteps approaching that they separated, both moving back to their original positions just in time for Brock to walk back in the room and into his bed. Before long, the familiar sound of the older teen snoring had filled his ears, but his mind was focused on nothing but the girl above him as Ash hopelessly struggled to figure out what it was he should do. It was ironic that then, when he actually wanted to stay awake that sleep came in an instant, forcing his eyes closed despite every protest.

It was 7 years later that Ash now awoke, covered in cold sweats but remaining still. It wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, and unlike the first where he woke up screaming and choking back tears, he simply remained in bed and stared up at the ceiling. In the next few minutes he replayed the events after that night. The 3 woke up in silence, and walked out of Viridian to the cross-roads. He couldn't muster the nerve to talk to Misty at all, and even Brock picked up in a second that something was up. Unfortunately, he put it to simple depression of the group going their separate ways.

The 3 split, saying their farewells before heading off in their own directions. He hugged misty, and felt her fingers dig into his shirt once more but neither knew what to do. They were young, doubts flooded their thoughts and removed any hope of them speaking about what happened. With his closest companion on his shoulder, Ash walked towards Pallet, turning around one last time to see Misty on the horizon just as she broke into a run, head down, moving as fast as she could.

There was nothing that 18 year old Ketchum could do now but wipe the sleep from his eyes and get up, stretching just as Pikachu woke up beside him.

"_Chaaa..._" Slowly getting to its feet, Pikachu imitated Ash and stretched out before hopping on his shoulder. "Pikapi!"

Thankfully that was enough to get a smile on Ash's face. "Come on then Pikachu, we've got a pretty big day ahead of us."

Soo, this is just the start of something I had been thinking of after re-watching the original anime. I'm entirely new to showing what I write to other people, so feedback is appreciated but in the end this really just is a little project of mine for fun, nothing all too serious. If people like it I'm more than happy to keep uploading what I've written, just figured i'd chuck this part up and see what you all think :)


	2. Chapter 2

"But you know what Pikachu, I think I could use a bit more sleep." Even after going to the trouble of getting out of bed, it was only seconds before Ash fell backwards and collapsed onto the soft mattress. Having spent some time at home it was only natural for him to become complacent and lazy, often staying up way too late and sleeping in well past midday. The only thing he ever woke for was the smell of food and his planned training schedule. Even if he wasn't currently competing in anything, the new PokeMaster wasn't about to let any of his Pokémon fall out of shape.

"Pika?" The electric mouse cocked its head to the side somehow still surprised by Ash's behaviour after all these years. Grabbing onto his leg, the Pokémon started pulling for all it was worth.

"Pikachuuuu let me sleep in a bit more. The Professor can wait!"

"Pika, Pikapi!" Giving his pyjamas one last pull in vain, Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's chest and powerful sparks started flying from its cheeks."Pikaaaaaa…"

"Wait, wait no Pikachu I'm getting up!"

Too late. Even as he scrambled to rise it was all he could do to brace himself.

"_CHUUUU!"_ Discharging enough electricity to make any normal human feint Pikachu shocked Ash just enough so that he had no chance of falling back asleep any time soon.

"Honey, is everything okay? Come downstairs, breakfast is ready!" Coming from outside his room, Delia Ketchum's voice was just loud enough to reach her son over the sound of a pained groan caused by electric shock, with both trainer and Pokémon perking their ears up at the mention of food.

"Go on then Pikachu, I'm coming." Happy to head downstairs for breakfast even without its trainers permission, Pikachu stopped in the doorway looking back at Ash as sparks started flying once more.

"Okay, okay! I promise I won't fall back asleep! Now go before Mr. Mime comes up and chases us both downstairs with its broom." Struggling to get up as he watched Pikachu leave the room Ash brushed himself off and threw his sheets back over his mattress in a half-hearted attempt to make the bed. The only thing that made him pause before heading to eat was the brief moment he spared to look at his cabinet, the reflection of a morning sun off his many trophies with the glare of one in particular capturing his attention. Larger than the rest and with _1__st_carved professionally into the base; Ash's latest trophy from the Indigo League last year always stood out and made him smile without fault.

Stretching his arms high above his head and letting out a yawn which was much louder than necessary Ash found himself dumbstruck the second he re-opened his eyes in the kitchen.

"Let go Mr. Mime, I'm dishing up breakfast!"

"Mime, !"

"I said let go! You get to do it all the time, let me help out for a change!" Standing next to the bench was an unexpected sight that made both Ash and Pikachu lost for words. Fighting over a ladle, Delia's faithful Mr. Mime was furiously struggling for control against Brock as the two clearly had a huge dispute over who should be the one to serve up food.

"Mr Mime, Mime Mr Mime!"

"You're just saying that. I know you'll change your mind the second I agree!"

"Mr. Mime!"

Surprisingly, none of this was bothering Delia in the slightest. In fact, she had gotten so used to it that instead of worrying you could find her sitting in her chair with an immovable grin, slowly sipping on coffee as she watched the two in a similar fashion to a comedy skit.

"Fine. If I let you dish up I get to do the cleaning afterwards!"

"Mime!"

With a stare off intense enough to make almost any stand-byer nervous the two eventually nodded and came to an agreement with Brock sitting down as the faithful Mime Pokémon started serving.

"Uhh, hey Brock."

It was only now that Brock noticed his old friend had finally awoken, getting up from his chair as fast as he sat down to give Ash an overwhelming bear hug. "Ash! It's so good to see you again!"

"Y-you too Brock!" His arms pinned at his side by the powerful hug, Ash could simply slap his restrained hand up against Brock's side until he let go, taking in a huge gasp of air. "What are you even doing here?"

"Pika-chu!" Hopping up onto Brock's outstretched arm in an instant, Pikachu happily started chewing on one of the Breeder's delicious PokeTreats.

"It's good to see you as well Pikachu, and what do you mean Ash? We're all here visiting Professor Oak."

By now everyone had seated, starting to eat as Mr. Mime went around serving up food and cleaning a spot whenever Brock wasn't paying enough attention.

"Wait, you're visiting Oak as well? How come?"

"What are you on about? You know why everyone is headed there, right?"

"Uhh, no… All I know is that Professor Oak wants to see me for something, at least that's all my mum told me."

Silently listening in on the conversation Delia now gave a little giggle, although if it was at her Pokémon's stealthy cleaning or her son's words no one would be able to tell.

"That's my fault Brock; I thought it would be best if I let you all explain it."

"Oh! Well that's fair enough then. Ash the Professor wants to see us all because there's another tournament coming up, and we're sending you to it."

Although he had still been fairly groggy up until now, the instant he heard mention of a tournament all the life suddenly burst into his body, eyes lighting up as he started bombarding Brock with questions.

"A TOURNAMENT?" Wait, but which one? I finally beat the Indigo league 8 months ago, the Johto and Hoenn leagues aren't on for another half year, and I don't have enough time to go to any of the others!"

"Well… Just wait until we get to the lab. You'll have everything explained to you then okay Ash?" In response the young trainer had scoffed the rest of his food, leading him to silently protest about a burnt tongue before rushing around the house grabbing his things. First into one room, coming out throwing his jacket on, into another and back out wrapping his belt around his waist as he went outside.

"Well, you can see why I didn't tell him myself!" With an innocent smile Delia apologized to Brock.

"Hey I can't blame you. I can barely handle travelling with Ash even when I have another person or two to help. I don't know how you can deal with him for so long."

"_Charizard, let's go! We're entering another tournament!"_ Coming from the backyard Ash could be heard talking to one of his strongest and most faithful Pokémon just as it came back from its morning flight.

"_ROOOOOOOOOOAR_._"_ Of course, his Pokémon was just as excited as he was. Bolting back inside to grab Brock by the arm as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder, the three exited the house as a group when Brock finally noticed the sneaky antics of Mr. Mime.

"HEY! NEXT TIME I'M CLEANING, OKAY!?"

"Mime, Mr. Mime!" The miming Pokémon was triumphant and was more than happy to let everyone know about it. Delia, after seeing her son leave the house once again had to resist the urge to embarrass her son with her usual routine, deciding against it as she doubted that she could even be heard above the sound of Charizard's powerful wings.

"Good luck sweetie, I know you can do it."

* * *

"Come on Brock, just tell me already!"

"Can you really not wait another 10 minutes Ash?"

"Nope!" Continuing to plead his friend for as much information as he could pry out of him, Ash was dancing and jumping in circles around the older Pokémon Breeder. "Come on! Come on come on come on come on!"

"Pika!"

"Watching you now I don't think _anyone_ would guess that you're champion of the Indigo league or over the age of 15, let alone both."

The only way Ash could respond to that was with an overbearing grin, his mind subconsciously flooding him with memories of standing atop the podium in front of a crowd of thousands, receiving his trophy after becoming the Indigo League Champion.

"And no one would think that you're a world renowned breeder after seeing you with an attractive woman for one second."

"That… that's entirely irrelevant." For a moment there was dead silence, before they both burst out into laughter which carried throughout the empty road only accompanied by the sounds of Charizard watching overhead.

"Anyway Ash, before we get there I need to tell you something. This tournament isn't your normal tournament. It's big and you aren't going to be the only one at the lab when we get there."

"What do you mean? It's a tournament; of course it's going to be big." Despite his protests both Ash and Pikachu were now vividly listening to Brock's every word, eager to know any and every detail about the upcoming competition.

"No Ash, this is larger than any competition you've been in. The tournaments, the Orange League and the Battle Frontier. It's new, and it's absolutely _huge_."

To say that Ash was excited was an understatement, but accompanying that was nerves. He could feel butterflies swimming around in his gut as he tried to imagine the scope at which this competition would be on. As the trainer grew older he never lost his confidence in himself and especially his Pokémon, but after meeting more and more talented competitors he came to respect others just as much as himself and thinking of the possible opposition naturally left him feeling slightly nervous.

"Wait, so you said others are going to be there. I'm not the only one from around here that's going to be entering? Who're the others?"

"Well, they won't be entering exactly… just wait until we get there, you'll see. As for who's going to be there?" Over the course of their talk, the small group of humans and Pokémon came up on the final hill, with the lab coming into view any second. "There's a few actually. Tracey will be there, Gary, even Ritchie."

Their destination just coming into view, Ash shielded his eyes from the late-morning sun as one striking figure in the near distance caught his gaze. A young female around his age, she stood waiting outside the lab leaning back on the gate with both hands tucked into the pockets of her skinny black jeans. Her midriff was entirely exposed, the girls' toned stomach being tanned by the harsh rays of the sun excluding the small area shadowed by her signature tank top. The bright yellow fabric standing out in any situation, it was highlighted even moreso by flowing orange hair which fell just below the girls' shoulders, seeming to frame her stunning face and bright, Viridian eyes perfectly.

The second the woman saw Brock her face lit up with a bright wide smile, lifting her hand to wave just as her gaze shifted to focus on Ash. Seeing the now accomplished Pokémon Trainer once again she felt a dull pain in her chest, one which mirrored the feeling that Ash himself had the moment he recognized her.

With an almost overbearing tightness in his chest, and his former nerves dropping dead and weighing down his stomach he could do nothing but wave back.

"Misty…"

"Yeah. Sorry to spring it on you like that Ash."

* * *

Part 2! I hope you guys are liking it so far and thanks for taking the time to read it! And a special thanks to those who are following/reviewing, it's great knowing that you're interested in what I've got to write :)

As for the story I'm planning to keep going forward with more flashbacks in each one to give you all a good idea of what exactly has happened in the past, and you can expect more characters from the different regions to show up shortly!


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